We'll Tell Them It Was Love
by cleverdistraction
Summary: oneshot. Barek and Logan go out for drinks and it snowballs into an interesting conversation. BarekLogan, and a hinting of BA, but blink and you might miss it! T for minor language.


We'll Tell Them It Was Love

By: Pyroangel32

Pairing: Barek/Logan

Author's Notes: So, this is based on a discussion taking place at the forum on this site about Barek and Logan…reminiscing about their cases made me happy…so I wrote a little fluff, but then I got tired…and when I'm tired, I start to write angst…but then I tried to kick myself out of it and it came out fluffy/angsty and out of character. I tried to hard to keep it in character…but then the love just came rolling in and I couldn't keep it up. lol. Not my best work…but I felt the need to get it up tonight for manny03…because that's who it's dedicated to—because we kept the discussion going! Please note that while this isn't my first fic, it's my first: CI fic, mainly dialogue fic, and semi-fluff fic. I'm not so great at any of the three, though I try…so, any feedback would be AMAZING and I would love you for it because I need all the help I can get!

Oh, importance: Mr. Miyagi is the character Pat Morita played in The Karate Kid…and I thought: who exemplifies all the mushy life-lesson givers in pop culture? Why…Pat Morita did! 

Also, I couldn't help but throw out a Mr. Big reference. It's fleeting, but there…because I couldn't help it. Oh, and if Mike's real name IS in fact Michael, then my bad…I just thought it would be funny.

---

It was late on a Wednesday night when she had finally broken down and agreed to go out for a drink with him. He offered frequently, hoping to see his partner outside of the office for one night--to watch the transformation of quiet, brilliant Detective Barek into the woman who now sat before him--a woman simply named Carolyn. She had refused his offers for months, her excuses ranging from "not tonight" to the more abrupt, "I said no, Logan."

But tonight, she sat across from him, slightly inebriated, and the same thought struck him over and over as the night wore on: that he had never noticed until now, how truly quiet she was at work. Apparently, alcohol brought out "Talkative Carolyn" (not Barek, she had insisted). He sat there, completely bemused as she spoke clearly throughout the night--in more languages than he thought it was possible for one person to know. Truly amused, he had kept an indiscreet tally of each time she inadvertantly switched languages mid-sentence--or at least he tallied each time he was sure she had switched--and he was even more sure that he had missed more than he had counted.

He sat across from her and watched her face light up with each new sentence and realization, until, abruptly, she stopped.

"Are you going to ask me?" She said, taking a pull from her beer, innocent eyes torturing him.

"Ask you what? Seems to me, you were doing just fine all by yourself." He let out a low, rough laugh when she choked out a surprised look from underneath her drink. Or perhaps she was embarassed?

"Sorry..."

"No, don't be. You're an interesting woman, Ba--Carolyn." He looked away quickly, letting them fall into an uneasy silence once more before he spoke, never looking up. "Don't stop talking on account of my thrusting my foot into my mouth. I guess I just like the taste."

She laughed then, deep and throaty--and utterly seductive. He stole another glance at her, feeling a smile spread across his own face to mirror hers.

"It's not your fault that I talk too much, you know..." His eyebrows shot up at the thought. Carolyn Barek, talk too much?

"What the hell are you talking about? You're the quietest person I know!"

"Well, look at who you know!"

"Oh, geez, c'mon Car... you barely talk to anyone but yourself on the job--and you only talk to me if you have to!" He smiled at her and continued, "Until tonight you wouldn't spend any time with anyone outside of work--so what gives? What jackass ever said that you talk too much and meant it as an insult---Which I did not.---... I meant it...uh, endearingly...I was an endearing jackass!"

"Ah, yes, that is the Mike Logan I've been told about--the endearing jackass!" Her smile stopped just short of her eyes, "And anyway, I just--I'm not--I haven't always been this...uh, quiet, I guess."

"Examples."

"I was always, well,...you've got to promise not to tell a soul, Michael."

"My name's not Michael, but I'm with you--I promise, not a word."

"I was always...I cannot believe I'm telling you this.."

"Spill it."

"I was always the talkative one...the, uh, the...the loud-mouth. And it, uhm, it kind of got to me, you know, always being called that growing up."

"That's what you were embarassed about?"

"Not that you would understand..."

"No, you're right, I don't understand. You're smart and witty, but you never show it off. I barely know you and you're my partner. Now, damnit, if that hurt you way back in Catholic school--"

"I didn't go to Catholic school.."

"--then I'm sorry..but, like I said, jackasses. Now, I, on the other hand, find your little babble tonight pretty damned refreshing. Now, that's partially because you didn't notice that half of it was in about 20 different languages, but mostly it's because I want to hear what you've got to say. You'll go a little crazy if you keep it all up here." He said gently, tapping his index finger on her temple slightly to further his point, letting it linger there for seconds longer than it should have.

"I mean, c'mon, why do you think they don't call Goren crazy anymore?" She looked at him in confusion, trying to decide if his words were an insult or not.

"Why?"

"Because when he used to talk, no one was there to listen, only to critcize and poke fun. So he shut up, and people called him crazy because a person with that kind of genius can't be contained without making a few heads turn in the process. But then, he started talking again--and he can ramble on for hours--but he's not 'crazy Robert Goren' anymore--because now he's got Eames there to listen. She's there to back him up every step of the way." He paused to look at her downward cast eyes, "I guess, what I really mean to say is...I'm your..your Eames. Only, you know, not a woman. We're like...the, uh--"

"Antithesis."

"Yea..well, I was just going to say that we were their opposite parallels, but antithesis works." She looked up at him and they shared a smile--one that told volumes they hadn't yet spoken aloud.

"You saying I'm a genius, then, Mike?" She teased.

"Well, I figure if you're a loud-mouth, you're my loud-mouth, and since you're mine, I figure it's only better for me if everyone thinks you're a genius."

"Ah, yes, there's the possesive jackass we all know and love. He was hiding there behind Mr. Miyagi... I knew the whole endearing act wasn't going to last.."

"Hey! I am a very endearing man.."

"Well, you can be..if you think about it hard enough--and don't think that just because I haven't kicked your ass about that 'owning me' bullshit, doesn't mean I won't in the very near future."

"There's my snarky genius..."

"One more 'my' anything, and you'll just be begging for that ass kicking I promised."

"Anything to do with you and my ass in the same sentence is fine by me, Car..but, really, not in public--people will talk."

"Like they don't already."

"Hey! Now, if I can't call you my loud-mouth, we can't go pretending that you know all about my love-life."

"You denying all those rumors floating around that every female officer thinks I should know about?"

"Not denying altogether, just ...denying the time frame."

"I'm confused--I haven't heard any rumors about a time frame..."

"And you're supposed to be the genius...maybe I was wrong."

"Mike," she warned gently.

"All those rumors, are years old--I'm not like that anymore."

"Oh yea, Mr. Big has settled down in his old age?"

"Mr, who? Car, like I said, this is a public place, not the right forum for a discussion on those issues...and old age? Who are you calling old?"

"You're no spring chicken anymore, Mike...and you wouldn't understand the previous reference..unless I've got you pegged wrong.."

"I could show you a good time any night of the year, Carolyn... and when did you 'peg' me, because I missed it and that's a night I'd really like to remember..."

"You know what I mean."

"Yea, I know..but in all seriousness, grasshopper--"

"Doesn't the grasshopper bit kind of negate the 'in all seriousness' part?"

"--in all seriousness, " he said firmly, allowing only a small smile to grace his face, "I'm not that guy anymore. Ask Joe--I haven't been here with a girl in a long time."

"Do I want to know why I would be asking Joe instead of the women at the bar?"

"Because, my drunk friend--"

"I'm not drunk, Michael.."

"For the second time, my name's not Michael," he said, laughing, "so, like I was saying, my drunk friend, Joe owns this place, and he would know better than any of the other patrons how often I come in here and with whom. He's got a memory like an elephant." Carolyn rose from her seat and smiled brilliantly.

"When I ask him, should I call him an elephant, or do you think that would be a tad insulting?" Mike narrowed his eyes at her sarcasm, then, after a beat, stood up and walked after her.

Stopping just short of the bar, Carolyn waited for Joe's bulky frame to come toward her. Mike pushed himself against her, his front meeting her back, and whispered into her ear, "He prefers to be called Joe." At the contact, she draw in a sharp breath, suddenly feeling a bit woozy and hoping it was simply the alcohol finally working its way about her system. But she also knew that she hadn't consumed enough beer to cause this particular effect.

Feeling bold, Mike decided to test her reaction, placing his hand on her waist just inside the curve of her hand so that he could stroke the inside of her index finger. His face never left its intimate spot hovering close to the exposed flesh of her neck. His breathing was even--contented--as it blew across the few rebellious hairs that fell down from her updo to frame her face. His eyes locked onto hers as she stole a glance back at him.

"Can I help you?" The portly man asked, interrupting the moment the had passed between the two.

"I was just, uhm...I was wondering how many...women...Mike has brought around here lately. He assured me that you would have a good estimate for me, " she added, winking back at Mike, who had taken a slight step away from her upon the arrival of Joe.

"Well, Mike's always been the ladies man. I can't tell you an exact number..and who the hell am I kidding, Mike's gone cold turkey since you, babe. Now, I think I should probably be upset about that--seeing as I lose profits when Mike drinks alone, but I've been watching you kids all night and all I've got now is this nagging little question..."

"Yea, and what's that?" she asked, both unnerved and content at the same time. She wondered what was so painfully obvious between them that Joe would overlook a hefty year's profits for it.

"Where've you been hiding?"

"Hi-Hiding?" She asked, confusedly look at Mike for guidance. He just smiled at her, looking as though he was the smartest man in the room.

"We haven't been hiding anywhere, Joe--she just doesn't get out enough." Nodding his head deceptively at the man, he took Carolyn's elbow and gently lead her back to the table.

Scowling at him in confusion, she asked, "And what was that about?"

"Joe thinks we're together."

"Joe what? Wh-why?"

"Because of this," he said simply, gesturing to the narrow space where their bodies were not touching--a space that was entirely too small for 'just friends.' Upon reflex, Carolyn moved to step away, but Mike's hold on her body was firm enough to keep her resistance low. Tilting her head up to look into his eyes, she tried to keep the flutter from rising in her chest. Leaning his head downward toward hers and closing his eyes, her own eyelids felt heavy with passion as his husky voice whispered into her ear, "You can't pretend you don't feel this, too. You're too smart to ignore it."

Suggestively, his grip on her waist became more firm and he lowered his other hand from her arm to caress the small of her back. She took a gentle step backward and shook her head slightly, "I'm too smart to let it happen, Mike. We're partners. And I thought we were friends. I can't be...I can't be your--your...plaything." The bitter anguish in her words hit him like a sucker punch to the gut and the air seeped out of his lungs.

Brushing her hip with the pad of his thumb, he tried his best to keep his words even, "I thought you...I thought we...didn't Joe clear that up for you, Car? Why can't you see past this...this...what ever this is? I'm not that guy anymore...I haven't been that guy in the entire time you've known me. There are only so many ways I can try to show you that..." He removed his arms from her body and stepped back to retrieve his coat, dropping money on the table to cover the drinks. Silently, he brushed the hair out of her eyes and dipped down to place a kiss on the top of her forehead before he turned to leave.

As he reached the door, he glanced back at her as she dropped down, dazed, into her seat and stared at the unoccupied expanse of bar in front of her.

"Go get him, babe. You've got that look in your eyes that says you want to--For just tonight, don't think; just do. Let it be a lesson to you--life's too short to sit around a bar watching all the start-crossed lovers lose their way back to each other. I've been doing that for too long. I lost my Phyllis that way--letting her walk out--thinking that I knew better than love. But you've just got to take all the moments you're given and throw them together while you can. My Phyllis walked out that door and was hit by a taxi cab when she crossed the street--died on impact--and I'll never forgive myself for letting it end that way. I know it's just a little creepy coming from some guy you don't know, and it's even more strange that I just spilled my whole story to you--but that look you've got on your face right now, I recognize it. And I wear it everyday. Granted, on a big guy like me, it's part of the persona, but on a beautiful lady like you, it's just depressing. Now you go get him, or I'm kicking you outta my bar!" He smiled gently at her then, his dark eyes lighting up with pleasure when she reached back to grab her coat and ran out the door.

Mike stood there, just outside the door, leaning against the neighboring building.

"He tell you about his girl, Phyllis?"

"Yea...how'd you know?" He wiped the smile off his face and looked to the ground seriously, sensing her rising anger.

"He tells everyone. I couldn't tell you if it were true or not, just that his face...his face lets you know he isn't lying about the emotion behind the story. And ever since the first time he told me that story--right after one of my dates had run out on me--he's let me know if any of the girls I brought there were worth running after. He told me once that I'd know she was worth running after if I thought she'd run after me. I left tonight and got about a half block toward my apartment when it hit me that there's only one person I'd want running after me--and it's you. So I came back and waited to see if you felt the same, hoping that you did--"

"I do...uhm, feel the same that is...I--I'm just, I don't know whether I can trust myself to catch up--with all that's at stake. This is the most important thing in my life--this job, it's my everything and if I lost it, I couldn't...I don't know what else there would be..."

"There'd be me. Because I'm your Eames."

"And what does Eames have to do with us losing our jobs over fraternization?"

"Because Eames and Goren do it everyday."

"How do you--"

"Let's just say you aren't the only damned good detective in MCS."

"So you're my Eames?"

"Yep."

"I'll ignore the oddity of that statement and assume that means you want to risk it?"

"Yea.."

"And the fraternization? What'll happen if they do find out...we don't exactly have the 6 year relationship and practically perfect solve rate that Goren and Eames have.."

"Then we'll tell them it wasn't fraternization."

"We'll lie?"

He tugged at her hand then, and wrapped his arms around her in the cold grey of the morning. Dropping a kiss to her cheek before they began their walk to his apartment, he held her a little tighter and said, "No...we'll tell them it was love."


End file.
